Council is responsible for the management of traffic and traffic facilities on local roads within the Municipality. Council's Traffic & Transport section is responsible for the investigation of traffic management issues.

Woollahra Traffic Committee

The Woollahra Traffic Committee compromises two parts, the Local Traffic Committee and the Development Committee. The Development Committee only reviews proposed developments that will have a significant impact on traffic management and meets as required in conjunction with the Local Traffic Committee.

Any proposed changes to traffic or parking management are reported with recommendations to the Local Traffic Committee, which is a technical advisory committee chaired by Council. Members of the Committee are Council, Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), the NSW Police, and the two Local Members of State Parliament (for matters within their respective electorates), with an observer from the State Transit Authority for advice on relevant transport matters. Recommendations made by this technical body are then forwarded to Council's Community & Environment Committee for resolution. Members of the public are welcome to attend meetings of the Traffic Committee or the Community & Environment Committee, and may make representations.

Traffic & Transport Strategy

Woollahra’s Traffic & Transport Strategy was adopted in July 2001. This consisted of a comprehensive examination of traffic conditions throughout the Municipality and recommended a number of potential actions to be progressively implemented.

Some of these actions are completed and require no further action, others are still underway or are being monitored, and some actions are being reviewed to assess their appropriateness due to changes in circumstances, traffic conditions or feedback from residents. The construction and opening of the Cross-City Tunnel is a very clear example of one of the changes that have occurred since the adoption of the initial report which have affected some of the actions outlined in the initial report.

Council receives many requests for funding of various traffic devices in numerous locations. Each community sees its own problems as requiring “immediate action” and as being essential for the safety or amenity of its members. Due to budget constraints it is important that projects and requests are prioritised taking into consideration safety, residential amenity, pedestrian safety, through traffic control, equity and value for money. Council currently spends approximately $400,000 per annum on traffic capital works projects.

Council adopted the Woollahra Traffic Management Strategy in April 2014. The strategy was developed to inform and assist in the management of traffic issues in the Woollahra municipality. The strategy includes a prioritised 10 – 20 year traffic capital works program for the road network managed by Council.

The aim of the strategy is to identify the existing traffic and transport issues within the local government area and to recommend ways to improve the negative impacts of traffic on amenity, safety and access, with safety and reducing the frequency and/or severity of road crashes being the main priority. The traffic strategy procedure uses a methodology that allows the community’s high priority traffic projects to be ranked according to a number of criteria. This allows for funding to be promptly reallocated from a delayed project to the next highest ranked project.

This new strategy is intended to provide a researched basis on which to inform the direction of future traffic capital works projects, funding bids to State and Federal Government for crash countermeasures (blackspot funding) and other initiatives to improve the safety of Woollahra’s road network for all road users.

As the title implies, this document provides a strategic direction. It is therefore envisaged that further work would be required in terms of detailed investigation of the identified issues, further development of appropriate countermeasures (where practicable) and design of appropriate traffic calming facilities, in consultation with the community.

It is intended that the priorities recommended in the Traffic Management Strategy for traffic capital works will be considered and reviewed on an annual basis, as part of the budget process.

By maintaining the traffic management strategy process, especially with the constant review, Council can be confident that, over time, most traffic related issues can be equitably addressed.